Page 42 of Her Arranged Alpha
I shook my head. "Nope."
Frank smirked. "Oh, so you're going to surprise her. This will be fun."
I rolled my eyes. "It's going to be great."
The party went along smoothly, and after an hour or so, I pulled Jillian towards me and cleared my throat. "I just wanted to thank everyone for coming. As you know, Jillian and I were married a couple of weeks ago, and I just wanted everyone to get to know Jillian."
Jillian froze next to me, her eyes snapped wide.
I gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm going to let you know that any rumors, any taunting, any bullying towards my wife will not be well received. Jillian is my wife and a member of my pack. She will be respected and treated with kindness. So, this party is for her. My wife."
Jillian turned to me and frowned. "That's what this is about? You outing me."
I frowned. "Jillian, I am not outing you. I am simply stating that you are my wife, and I won't stand for anyone treating you differently."
Before I could say anything else, Sam had already walked over, grabbing Jillian's arm. "Sorry to interrupt…. great speech, Maddox. I'm taking her now." She pulled Jillian, taking her away from me.
I swallowed, watching Sam pull her over to a group of people who all hugged Jillian. I knew that she had friends, and I was happy, but a part of me was jealous. She was so open with them, and I couldn't figure her out.
Last night was the first time I even saw a sliver of who she was, but that part of her was not here today.
Chapter 14 - Jillian
"God, you look great." Hope, one of the witches I had gotten to know, said in an eager voice. She was part of the witch group that I had become friendly with. Everyone always thought the witches were evil and people who couldn't be trusted, but I knew that was far from the truth. They were the sweetest and most forgiving people that I knew.
"Thank you," I said, giving Hope a smile in return. "I haven't seen you guys in a few months. Where have you been?"
The girls traveled around a lot in the darkness. They were out placing protective barriers around homes and trying to counteract any magic that had been done. The Alphas were trying hard to find an answer, but what they didn't understand was that the darkness left a mark when it came. The girls said it was like a bad omen. People ended up with bad luck, and troubled times followed them. The witches moved through the packs, trying to heal what was broken.
"Busy," Hope said, giving me a tired expression. "But we continue forward."
I felt for them because they understood. When I got back and was broken beyond repair, Hope had helped me. She cleansed my aura, but when it came to my mind, it was something I would have to fix.
Claire reached a hand out, giving my shoulder a squeeze in understanding. I smiled at her. "Where are Jessie and Tara?"
"They were making a stop before they came."
"God, I haven't seen them in forever," Sam said, looking stunned.
Sam had been the one to introduce me to the witches. I had gotten along well with Sam and found she was soft-hearted and sweet. Being a seer, she understood what it felt like to be different. Not entirely one thing.
After everything had happened, she'd taken me to see Hope. She told me she couldn't watch someone so bright and full of life slowly burn out. She wasn't wrong.
"So, Alpha Maddox then?" Hope asked, glancing over towards him. “He's a looker."
"Oh god," I groaned. "Please don't."
Hope leaned closer as we walked back to the table where we were sitting. Sam, Katie, and Nina were still sitting there waiting. "Is he good in bed? I bet he's good in bed."
I thought of last night and how his lips felt against mine. For once, I just felt my mind shut off, and I could relax. I wasn't worried about being alone. I wasn't worried about hearing the voices or if I was crazy.
I could focus on his lips and where his hands were resting. I focused on his warmth and how it made me feel, how safe I felt. I felt safe.
"You will never know," I said as I sat down.
Sam raised an eyebrow at us. "Know what?"
Hope smirked. "I asked her how Maddox was in bed, and she doesn't want to share the details."
